Awoke to Dreaming
by Darlin
Summary: Storm could actually turn into Bloodstorm if Wolverine can't kill her before she becomes a vampire & if he can't kill her then it's up to Gambit. But can either of them go through with it and if they can't kill her will she kill the men she cares most for?
1. Chapter 1

**Awoke to Dreaming – by Darlin**

**A/N** – Writing this story just tickled me to death, it's another one of my not so typical stories that I don't know how anyone will react after reading it but I had so much fun with it I really hope it's enjoyable for others. It's reminiscent of a comic book I liked way back in the day. Wonder if anyone will guess which one. I personally like the twistedness of it but don't know if it'll work or not for anyone else. It was supposed to be a one shot but it's probably going to be two chapters since I had such a blast with it and kept writing and writing so it got too long for a one shot, besides Remy has to be in it! At any rate I really would appreciate any feedback, good or bad and for anyone interested in updates for **African Skies & Canadian Whiskey (AS&CW)** and the long promised epilogue to **Saints and Sinners (S&S) **see below and for any who could care less skip on to Chapter One.

**Updates **: I keep waiting and hoping for that elusive muse but haven't been able to write for months but this came to me a few weeks ago and I thought if I start it I know I'll finish it and if I'm able to finish it then the creative juices might flow again and then maybe I could finish some other stories that I've had sitting around for, well years. Oh how I wish that comes true. It pains me to no end that I have left African Skies & Canadian Whiskey (AS&CW) go for so long and that I still haven't finished the epilogue to Saints and Sinners (S&S).

I finally found the scribbled over epilogue for S&S stashed in a drawer at work at the end of last year when we were moving things around for carpet installation and hoped to type it up and post it but I read through the story and I was appalled at how horrible it was which stalled the epi. It was okay up until the middle part I think and I want to go back and tweak the heck out of it. Ah well. Inspiration comes as it comes. I do mean to keep trying though.

**Disclaimer - **Almost forgot this. Well, why not? After all we all know I don't own any Marvel characters and it's just all in fun, no profit made here.

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**Chapter One – A Mirage of the Heart **

I don't know if you've ever been out on the plains right after leaving Colorado or either coming into Colorado from Kansas but it's wide open out there, just this huge almost empty space and if you drive through in the evening into night out on the horizon you can see such a display of lightning flashing in the sky it will fill you with both fear and wonder.

Ororo Munroe flew in on the winds just in time for the light show, a sight she'd witnessed only a few times before but one she'd never forgotten. She settled down on the ground, legs crossed, face lifted to the graying sky. Lightning was something she knew quite a lot about. It was deadly of course but if you could contain it, temper it; you could use it to suit your needs – her needs. She loved how she could manipulate this dangerous force of nature. It would suit her purposes well this evening but first she would enjoy its beauty one last time.

She loved watching lightning when she wasn't the one controlling it. There were never any consequences if she was only a spectator. There was never the concern that innocents might be caught in the crossfire, lightning gone wild, out of her control. No worries, no guilt, no emotions save pure, simple pleasure.

How do you describe lightning? Ororo never could. It didn't dance, it didn't rain down like some bolt of justice directed by some Asgardian god – not usually. It crackled and struck instantaneously like some death sentence of light and power, its energy something even Ororo could never quite comprehend. To wield it, to be struck by it was power unimaginable. She was sure if she brought down enough lightning she could eventually overload and thus kill herself.

This evening the lightning took her breath. It was so beautiful that she wore a non stop open mouthed grin. Such might, such peace. The contradictions of her life. She sat there for a very long time. Far away from the highway, no houses or people nearby, unwelcome intrusions – welcomed solitude. It was too good to last.

She caught the scent of the hunter long before she heard the crunch of leather soles on hard beaten down earth.

"Guessed I'd find you here," a deep, gruff voice stated.

"How well you know me," she replied without turning.

She felt him behind her, all tension and conflicting emotions something she had come to expect from him less and less as their friendship had grown over the years. She wondered if during his trek across the plains he had taken in the beauty of the sky studded thick with clouds even in the growing dark, the majesty of the sight, light in darkness as sparks of thin jagged light rushed from the sky to the ground like some giant crone's fingers moving this way and that as if to work some magical spell. Had he taken a moment to give thanks to his maker for this beautiful day, this beautiful night, this beautiful moment?

"Are you gonna go back?" he asked her.

"No," she said and her voice was cold and flat though not defiant.

"Didn't think you would," was all he said.

"Then asking was foolish and you are not usually a foolish man, my friend," she said.

She heard him chuckle slightly before he caught himself and cleared his throat. There was business at hand and she knew he meant to tend to it. She heard him release his breath, a long weary sigh. He saw her release her own almost inaudible sigh of weariness as her shoulders rose then fell a fraction and he stealthily narrowed the distance between them. He was so quiet she wouldn't have heard except she could hear better than most, the wind on the wild open prairie hers to carry any slight noise to her.

She rose fluidly just as he lunged for her. He'd thought she'd accept this fate but she obviously hadn't as she twisted just out of his reach pushing away with wind and all the skill of her years with the X-Men. She wore a simple white shirt, long, a man's shirt, over a pair of cut off jean shorts and now her hand caught at her side feeling flesh and blood seeping from the claw marks that had raked over her, tearing the fabric. So close. But not close enough. By all rights she should be dead. Logan didn't often miss his target. But she had determination on her side and she knew he did not. She felt the wound; it was deeper than she'd first thought. Maybe he did have determination after all, she considered.

"Darlin' . . ." he started but that was all he could manage. What little determination he'd mustered was faltering fast.

Ororo let loose a hard laugh. "Darlin'! It's always darlin' with you. The worse is that you say it as if you mean it! You even once made me think you meant it! Once I thought . . . I thought . . ."

When she didn't finish his eyes implored her on. She shook her head as if it were no longer important what once was and truly, how could it be when the claws on his right hand were still dripping with her blood?

"What?" he asked. "What did you think, 'Ro?"

He needed to know. She saw it on his face. As if he expected her to say something that would give him some just cause to stop this mission of death. But it wouldn't. She knew nothing she could say would stay his hand and he knew it too. Still she wanted him to know before she departed this world because it was once important to her and sometimes she still thought of it, a painful, childish memory.

"It's rather silly now, pointless even," she said as she held up her blood covered fingers as proof.

"Tell me," he insisted, groping for anything to delay the inevitable.

She smiled sadly as she let her hand fall. "Once, a long, long time ago, I thought I was in love with you," she whispered feeling her stomach unexpectedly tighten into a knot of anguish as she waited to hear what he would say.

That same knot of anguish connected them in that moment, his own stomach lurching as her words registered with him, the thought of what could've been, what they'd missed.

"Maybe it was just a dream," Ororo said lightly when he didn't respond. "You know those hot Australian days – a mirage of the heart."

"It wasn't," he said, shaking his head. "I thought maybe just for a while there we were – you know, that maybe things could've gone in a different direction for us an' then . . . well I left for a minute an' everything blew up all to pieces."

Nanny. Genosha. Mrs. Scott Summers . And then T'Challa .

Logan would've followed her to hell and stayed there with her back in the old days. There wasn't anyone he trusted more even now. He'd never regretted following her to Australia despite the way things had turned out. He would've done anything for her she'd meant that much to him and nothing had changed, he still cared deeply. They'd had so many chances and not just in the Outback but it seemed something had always gotten in the way or either someone. But she had loved him once and knowing that touched him greatly. Had he known before this how things could have been different! So much wasted time. And now there was no time, not for them, not for her.

"Let me hold you, darlin'," he said and held out his arms for her, claws still extended. "It'll be easier; I'll be with you till the end."

Her laugh, still harsh still bitter, made him feel like the guilty executioner he was.

"Put me down like a dog, is that the plan? Hold my hand while you stab me in the heart? Just like you did to Lady Mariko ?"

He looked down, away from her, his mouth tightening, his emotions struggling for release – anger, hurt, love, regret all teeming together.

"But I am not a dog, Logan . I will not lie down and do what you tell me. I meet my fate on my own terms," she said.

"I know that, 'Roro! You're the strongest person I've ever known an' you're the best friend a man ever had too. I care for you more than you know; we've been connected in some way or another since the day I saved you from drowning and I love you, Ororo. Maybe not the way you wanted me too but in my own way an' I expect I always will, you've been such a huge part of my life darlin', but you know we gotta do this, you got no choice an' neither do I, don't matter how much we care for each other or what all could've happened between us if I'd pulled my head outta my ass. The virus you're infected with is gonna spread an' with your powers who knows how many you might infect or kill. Time's runnin' out, you can't let it take you over, 'Ro. The woman I know and respect wouldn't allow that. You know this is the only way."

"Fast and painless, one . . . two . . . three claws to the heart, dying in your arms," she mused aloud. "There are few better ways to leave this earth I suppose but . . . no," she said her voice firm and decisive. "No, Logan I will not die that way, not this day."

"You know I can't let you do this, 'Ro. Think of everyone you could kill once it gets outta control!"

"I am disturbing no one here. Look around you, there is no one else here beside you and I."

He laughed now. "You fly remember? It ain't like you can't reach a city an' take 'em all out, not ta mention if your powers spike what's happenin' now, that lightning out there, won't look like more than a few sparklers compared to what you'd unleash, darlin' – folks would be helpless if you're turned."

She smiled wryly. "I will not leave this spot. I promise you, Logan . Let me end this my way."

Looking up at the sky and the lightning he had an idea just how she meant to end this nightmare. He wasn't so sure overloading herself with electricity would work though. He'd seen her go rogue once and she'd absorbed enough voltage it would've killed most mutants but it hadn't killed her. And yet he actually considered her proposal for a minute. He owed her a death with dignity. He owed her so much more than that. But finally he had to shake his head. He had orders. She would be a danger to everyone on the planet if she were allowed to live. He couldn't take the chance even though he knew she'd try to keep her word.

Hank had explained that the virus would spread quickly once it progressed to the last stage where, like the Legacy virus of old, powers could become unpredictable, increasing to the point where the carrier of the virus often was no longer in control. But this virus was worse than the Legacy virus. This virus turned mutants into something akin to vampires Hank had told them. They hungered for blood without reason because Dracula was partly responsible for the creation of the virus. Sinister had the oddest alliances. But Dracula had promised to spare Ororo if she would come to him, to cure her with one bite. He would make her his, a true vampire fully able to control herself for the virus did not affect vampires if one was turned in time. This was essentially the only known cure if cure it could be called. One still craved blood but if turned into a vampire it enabled the victim to at least choose how they slaked their hunger. More importantly it would allow Ororo to remain as close to her true self as possible without the surge of powers that might possibly be uncontrollable and without the constant insatiable lust for blood causing her to kill anyone to get it. She had of course refused. Long ago she had decided that she would take her own life rather than become a vampire and that decision stood.

The time for talking, for wishing things had been different was over. Logan pounced. He was fast, faster than her, but she was agile even wounded as she was and again she twisted from him, twisting and twirling up and away into the air. And then, the virus having gotten to that last unthinkable point, she drew lightning from the skies and sent it crashing into him. But even as she did this she let out a loud cry horrified at what she'd done and she cursed the day she'd met Dracula.

Logan was sprawled on the ground unable to hear or even feel, dead for all intents and purposes**. **Ororo lit back onto the ground and stood over him trying to discern if he was breathing and saw and felt there was no air going through his destroyed lungs. She looked at his mangled, lifeless body with the wonder of a child. This mighty, burly, barrel chested man was dead at her hands. She held those hands out before her and looked at them marveling at how easy it was to electrocute him, to still his heart, to take his last breath – just as he would've taken hers. To kill or be killed. Survival. It was, she found, a delicious feeling even exhilarating. But wrong she had to remind herself. She shivered, realizing that the virus was spreading too fast. Was she losing command of her wits already?

The question of her sanity was forgotten when she saw there was movement in Logan 's body. He sucked in a gulp of air from now restored lungs. It wasn't easy killing the Wolverine though she'd always known this. The knowledge made her smile, glad to know some things could always be counted on. But when his hand moved to the hole in his chest where he'd been struck, fingers feeling the burnt fabric and skin without even thinking about it she jolted him again. His body did a little hop off the ground then went inert. She leaned forward observing the damage, the smoldering flesh, the shredded t-shirt, the stench and the way the skin began to knit back together as she imagined his heart must be doing. How much current to kill him she vaguely wondered.

Sinking onto her knees, ignoring the slight pain from the gash to her side, she leaned over Logan and slowly, despite the horror she felt, let her teeth, now sharpened from the disease, sink into Logan 's throat. Go for the jugular Logan had always advised her even knowing that the odds were slim to nil that she ever would. But you never knew what you might have to do, stab someone to death, rip a heart from someone's chest, kill yourself before you yourself became the enemy. Too late for her now, she knew as she supped on the strangely divine tasting blood of a man she once and perhaps still loved.

"I am hardly full," she murmured to herself shortly when she saw the jagged bitten flesh on his throat was nearly closed. He would be awake soon, alive again, she thought and true enough his eyes fluttered open.

"What did you hit me with, darlin'? A Mack truck?" he choked out.

"I am afraid I am going to have to put you down again," she said.

"Ya don't think we could talk about this maybe?"

"No. I am sorry, truly."

Logan closed his eyes, trying to recover his strength. He'd be useless until his body started healing itself again and if she kept filling him with electricity and stopping his heart his healing factor would be forced to work overtime which meant it would end up slowing down significantly. And if he didn't heal fast enough there wouldn't be a chance to stop her from leaving him and moving on to the nearest town to feast.

"I do not mean to toy with you like a cat would a mouse," Ororo said. "I – I must do this, Logan , I cannot help myself. Forgive me."

He was struggling to sit up just as lightning struck him again knocking him to the ground. Ororo climbed on top of him this time, ripping the remains of his t-shirt away. Her hand absently threaded through the soft hair on the upper part of his chest which was the only part left in tact and then she bit into his neck again, delighting in the taste of fresh blood gushing over her tongue and into her mouth. Oh it was so good.

It was long past midnight when Ororo finally felt full and she collapsed on top of Logan 's still body and sighed. He was still warm from the last surge of lightning she'd been forced to hit him with in order to keep him out of commission. He smelled of burnt flesh, blood and death and strange familiarity. He felt good beneath her, sturdy, familiar. His scent was still vaguely his too even as death had been overridden time and time again. The ever present odor of cigar smoke that always lingered over him was a tiny hint of what used to be, not only the man that he had been but the woman she used to be. It made her ache with regret but it also somehow calmed the mind warping virus within her helping to bring reasoning back.

Logan awoke almost imperceptibly. He felt as if he were waking from a nightmare only to find himself still dreaming. He felt trapped with no control over his body as sometimes happens when you dream of something evil lurking near but he caught Ororo's scent over the stench of charred flesh and death and struggled to regain control over himself. He felt her body pressed against his, felt her gentle breathing on his neck. The feel of her was achingly familiar and he couldn't help the sudden desire he felt for her. That wasn't where his head needed to be and he knew it but he couldn't help remembering the many times he'd held her and kissed her as he felt her fingers running now through the thick hair on his chest. Her touch, her feminine form all clouded his mind. He wanted her.

Thoughts of what he had to do didn't change that. It didn't help that her sweet scent was all around him overriding all others. He knew that scent so well. A feeling of peace settled over him as he inhaled. It was always that way with her, when she was near, something about her always put him at his ease. But the moment passed almost as quickly as it had come to him. Her scent was magnified, pure as the morning dew and as earthy as a forest floor but it was different too, changed so drastically he felt he had to be dreaming still. Everything was all wrong, the Ororo he'd known and desired was gone, just a shadow of herself. He forced himself to shrug off the misleading sense of peace and the dark desire that had taken hold of him as cold truth sunk in and all semblance of familiarity, of normalcy, was replaced with sudden panic as he again realized what he must do.

Focus, focus, he told himself. It was harder than it should've been and he guessed the virus was working on him. His body was fighting the infection while trying to heal the damage she'd done to him, too much for his system all at once as he knew it would be and it left him vulnerable to the affects of the virus, He felt a ravenous longing to taste her blood but to feel her too, to take her there without any regard to anything else. It was mixed up, twisted and overwhelming. He craved her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and bite into her. But the influence wouldn't last he knew. It virus would be out of his system soon and while he waited it would give him time to clear his head, to forget everything that she meant to him, to tune out her touch and her body, the need for blood. It was hard going though. Virus or not how could he stop thinking of being with her when her breast were pressed against his chest and her thighs were straddling his? And her neck was so close, her veins almost calling to him. He closed his eyes and wished desperately that he could wake and find none of this had ever happened.

He forced himself to concentrate on the subtler scents he was able to detect from her which reeked of death. She smelled of blood and that distinct aroma you get when it rains, part musky, full of decayed leaves and damp dirt. There was a name for that she'd told him once – petrichor! Yes that was it. Concentrating on something so mundane helped bring him back. He would have to kill her. The thought was almost too much with the weight of her body lounging against him. He couldn't stop the desire he felt for her, both sexual and emotional. If he could take this virus from her he would even if it meant that he had to be put down like a dog or caged like a rabid dog to keep others safe. Only he couldn't and so he had no choice. The virus had turned Ororo into a merciless killer and would've turned him too if he didn't have the ability to overcome it. She had waited too long to take her own life and now it was up to him.

"Darlin', think we can talk now?" Logan sputtered, still not moving.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm a little drowsy after such a meal," she said quite naturally and sat and stretched her arms and yawned.

"Glad ta see you were able ta get comfortable," he said.

She glanced at him as she lowered her arms. He saw her pupils clouding over.

"What is there to talk about, Logan ? I am the monster you knew I would become," she said, ready to silence him again.

"You can't keep killing me, darlin'."

"You are so damn hard to kill," she agreed.

"Might be we can work somethin' out."

Shaking her head sadly she leaned in to bite him but unbeknownst to her he'd recovered his strength and she failed to attack him before going in for another bite whether from drowsiness or simple oversight and he was able to knock her to the ground. He quickly scampered on top of her and pinned her.

"This is wrong, what you're doing, what I'm doing," she murmured, her eyes glowing white hot and he knew she was ready to summon more lightning to finish him off. "How many times I have faced death and once even welcomed it rather than suffer a fate much like this. I didn't want to die then – oh, Logan I don't want to die!"

He knew she was recalling the first time they were attacked by the Brood and she'd attempted to kill herself out in the coldness of space. He too had gone through a similar experience later but on Earth and like now his body had been able to reject the alien essence growing inside him.

"I know it darlin', it ain't like I want this either," he said. "You know how it tore me up with M'iko . I carry that with me to this day but this . . . this is gonna be a hundred times worse."

His fingers digging into her wrists were like shackles forcing her arms into the dirt and sparse grass. He looked down into her watery white eyes and tried not to remember the deep, clear blue they usually were. Thunder bellowed as if calling out a warning to him but no lightning came. His claws sprung out with the disquieting sound they always made. He saw the white of her eyes fade and her pupil's return – the blue eyes he knew so well. She tried to smile and then her eyes shut tight.

"Do it," she whispered.

His heart leapt. One chance only, he thought and struck before either could weaken. She gasped. Her eyes and mouth opened wide. There was no pain. Surprise covered her face. He pulled his claws from out of the ground beside her, wiped them slowly over a few tufts of grass then finally sheathed them. He didn't look at her.

"Oh, Logan you should have!" she groaned.

He covered his face with his hands briefly before looking at her.

"Couldn't," he admitted and lifted a leg and moved off her.

"This isn't what I want," she said but already her eyes were clouding over.

"Getting' used to it," he muttered. "It's kinda kinky though ya don't need ta shock me . . . just go on an' take a bite, I'll probably choke on my own blood." After having said this he laid down as if all the fight had gone out of him.

" Logan . . ."

"Nah, go ahead, take a bite," he said and reached out and patted her hand. "Like I said it's kinda sexy with you sittin' on top of me with those big ol' thighs of yours."

"They are not big!" she shrieked.

"Oh I ain't sayin' you're fat, darlin' just ya got plenty of what a man wants."

"You always had a way with the women didn't you my friend?"

"Not with the ones I really wanted."

"If this is your idea of trying to impress me or an attempt to get the better of me you're doing a very poor job old friend."

Logan grinned and before she knew what had happened she was pinned beneath his heavy body again. Something besides the virus and fear took hold of her, of both of them and they stared at each other with sudden understanding.

"One thing about you most folks don't know, 'Ro – ya got an ego that puts Magneto an' that brat of his ta shame sometimes – ya got too much confidence, too sure of yourself when you should be trustin' your emotions instead. It's a fine line trustin' you're instincts, thought I taught ya that."

She struggled beneath him grunting in anger and something else, something Logan took advantage of. He kissed her. She surprised him and bit his tongue. He laughed and kissed her again, long and hard, letting her suck the blood from his tongue and biting her back when she bit him again. Their heightened emotions and the impossibly desperate situation drew them together in a rush of passion that neither had expected.

"It's so good to feel alive . . . before I die," Ororo cooed as she finally gave into the kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

**Awoke to Dreaming – by Darlin**

**A/N **– Grr, sorry for the delay but I've had no laptop since the week I posted the first chapter. I had to coerce a friend into downloading this chapter which I finally finished tweaking in between work since work is the only place I have access to the Internet at this point. I've had the worse luck with laptops. Probably am going to buy a new one next month rather than get the latest one fixed. I think the delay worked out better though because I went over this chapter all this week and tweaked it some more and enjoyed the results which I think show more of a connection between the characters. In fact, I really love this story. I'm biased of course but I do love it so why not admit it! I hope the chapter is acceptable to you too, Grr and of course to all who read this and thanks to all who left some feedback, it's much appreciated.

**Chapter Two – It's a Strange Thing Love **

It was long past twilight, the sky was sooty black and a light drizzle had just started when Ororo, supping on Logan's blood, was stunned by a blow to her head.

"Stormy, I'm . . . I'm gonna have ta ask you ta . . . ta move away from de old man," a smooth, rich voice laced with a hint of hesitation declared.

Slumped over Logan's lifeless body and reeling from the blow Ororo still had fight in her. The air was thick with static electricity, the only warning he knew he would get before she struck but Remy LeBeau expected no less from his dearest friend.

Ororo hadn't heard him approach she'd been so intent on slurping up her delicious liquid meal and for a moment as she gathered her wits she was glad she hadn't. To strike Remy down in cold blood was anathema to her even now as she twisted around to look at him still feeling the lingering effect of the blow he'd given her. But surprisingly the pain was fast wearing off just as the wound Logan had given her earlier had.

Her beloved friend took a step towards her, bo staff still raised in both hands. He was such a pretty sight, handsome, cocky, sexy. She smiled at the memory of what he'd been to her. He grimaced at the sight. Her shirt, stained with blood, torn and soaked was hanging haphazardly off one shoulder and her mouth was also covered with blood, blood mixed with rain running down her chin – Logan's blood. Her teeth were stained with it. She looked so deviant Remy almost expected her head to turn a full 360 degrees. He took another step closer as the wind picked up and blew his long trench coat out so it flapped nosily against his legs. He wore his usual uniform beneath the coat but even with the light armor he felt cold and miserable.

"That hurt, Remy," Ororo said.

Remy lowered his staff in amazement. That was all she had to say? She didn't even look fazed. By all rights she should've been knocked out cold. He would've sworn her skull was laced with adamantium just like Logan's the way the blow he'd given her had vibrated through his wrists and arms.

He closed his eyes and whispered an uncharacteristic and fervent prayer, "_Mon Dieu_ have mercy!" and then, trying not to look directly at Ororo he said, "Stormy, you know Remy don't wanna do dis but Remy got no choice."

"But there's a solution to this, Remy – for everyone," Ororo said as she resettled her weight over Logan's body delighting in the feel of his heavy weight beneath her and the scent of his blood still so fresh and potent and deliciously luring.

Remy thought he glimpsed movement beneath her and he swallowed nervously. If Logan wasn't dead, and really how could you kill him? – if Logan wasn't dead then the two of them had to take Ororo out once and for all. His heart nearly crumbled into tiny pieces at the thought. Why couldn't the stupid old man have done the job properly? If Logan had then Remy wouldn't be there in this horrible place, desolated, forgotten, watching his beloved Stormy dining on human blood as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

His anguished sigh filled Ororo with self hatred but she knew the decision she'd come to was right.

"You must know I would kill myself before I ever hurt any of you," she said although she didn't look at him.

It was obvious she hadn't killed herself before the virus had taken over and Logan had fallen victim to her blood lust. His blood was still calling to her. She fought the urge but still moved in closer to Logan and couldn't stop herself from lapping at the few drops of blood remaining on his healing throat. "So good, so tasty," she murmured. She couldn't help herself.

Remy saw one of Logan's arms snake around Ororo's waist and with a grunt of irritation and anguish he reluctantly raised his weapon again. They would strike together and end this horrific nightmare. But Logan didn't attack, instead he seemed to press Ororo closer as his body moved against hers, and then his other hand weaved through her wet tresses pressing her face against his throat and they both inexplicably moaned.

"No, no more, I'm fine," she sighed and pulled away though her hands ran languidly over his well developed chest.

"Oh, Ororo _chère, _dis can't be happening!" Remy nearly shrieked.

"Get a hold of yourself, LeBeau, Storm's gonna be just fine," Logan growled. "Darlin, let me up, eh?"

Remy watched as Ororo wiped at her mouth with her soaked shirttail before she got off of Logan but in a swift unexpected move Logan rolled on top of her and Remy, with bo staff poised to strike, moved in closer. Logan glanced at Remy before placing a gentle kiss on Ororo's lips and then moved off her. The look of confusion and disgust was something Remy couldn't hide even if he'd wanted to and Logan sat back and laughed.

"Dis ain't funny, _homme_! You should've killed her so I wouldn't have to!" Remy wailed.

"Why I thought you loved me, _ma chère_," Ororo said.

"You know I do, Stormy, more 'n life even but I've got my orders. You know how it is, dis jus' ain't between you an' me, dere're innocents we gotta t'ink about, somethin' you know Remy didn't do before when I shoulda," Remy said, seeming to recover his determination to follow orders as he remembered the long ago slaughter of the Morlocks that he held himself responsible for.

"No one's killin' anyone," Logan snarled. "Like the lady said, we found a way to fix this mess an' I think it's gonna work."

"_Merde_!" Remy cussed then swore again. " Scott said you couldn't do it."

"So if I couldn't he thought you could?" Logan scoffed and started laughing again.

"Dis ain't a joke, it ain't some game! We been sent out here ta kill her! Ta kill Stormy! Oh _mon chère_, Remy don't want to – you know dat . . . I got . . . I got no choice!" he nearly sobbed.

"But, _ma chère_, I can control this, I _can_! You have to trust me," Ororo said as Logan helped her up.

"What de hell is dis? You two actin' like de virus never even happened! You both lost your minds?"

"It is perhaps as crazy as anything we have ever seen or done but things have . . . they have changed a great deal. Logan and I . . . we've reached an agreement."

"Dere's no cure, Stormy you know dat – you know it too, Logan !"

"I know but think about it, Remy, you know Logan can't be killed and he's offered to be – well, to be my . . ." she stopped, at a loss for words, and looked to Logan for help.

"I'm gonna be her Big Mac, fries an' vanilla shake whenever she needs ta get her munchies on," Logan said before breaking out in a loud guffaw.

"You what?" Remy balked and looked at Logan as if the man had lost all sense.

"Yeah, I know her favorite's chocolate but plain ol' vanilla's gonna have ta do," Logan said through more laughter.

"What de hell?"

Remy was utterly confused. There wasn't one funny thing about the situation and now it was up to him to maybe kill them both if Logan was infected too and it looked as if he was with the way he was acting. But could Logan be infected since he healed so quickly? Remy groaned inwardly knowing he couldn't take them both on as his powers were paltry compared to theirs even with his ability to sway people's minds somewhat.

If he had no chance to defeat them before the virus he knew there was no hope now when the virus enhanced mutant's unique abilities. The reality was that he was a dead man if the virus had taken over Logan. A vision of Ororo sucking blood from his own neck flashed in front of Remy and then he saw himself sprawled out on the plains dead and torn into bits and pieces after Logan finished with him. He thought he might throw up.

"All right, maybe it does sound crazy as hell but this is 'Ro, _our_ 'Ro, Remy, not just some stranger on a sick crime spree we gotta put outta commission. Scott was right . . . I couldn't kill her, I care too much for her – just like _you_ do so this is what we've gotta do."

"Don't forget I killed you before you could kill me," Ororo said with a sly smile.

"It didn't stick now did it?" Logan grunted though he gave her an amused look.

"It would appear your vaunted claws didn't do the job either," Ororo said as she lifted her shirt to one side. The wound he'd given her was gone; a sure sign the virus had taken hold of her. She would be stronger now and heal on a level close to Logan . The virus would turn her into a veritable unstoppable murderer.

"Damn, we got no choice now," Logan muttered.

"It's taken over completely den?" Remy asked.

Ororo nodded as she lowered her shirt.

"Look, the gist of it is 'Ro needs ta feed ta stay in some kinda control so who better ta feed on than me? She can't kill me an' can't infect me fer long an' if she gets outta hand I can rein her in. She don't have ta hurt anyone but me an', well I'm gettin' pretty used to it."

"But . . . but dat's – dat's sick!" Remy cried.

"Look, kid it's gonna work. Go back an' tell Scott I've got things under control. I ain't gonna let her infect anyone. I'm gonna take care of her an' see her through this."

"But dat's crazy!" Remy said, shivering from the horror of the thought more than from the cold, wet wind.

"It's what we're gonna do, boy!" Logan barked. "Or are _you_ gonna try an' kill her? You think you can get past me? You wanna try?" Logan's claws sprung out as if daring Remy to try.

"Logan, sheath your claws," Ororo ordered.

"It ain't like the kid can take me," Logan said with a shrug though he did what she'd told him to.

"Ororo, please!" Remy said. It was kill or be killed . . . or this?

"I know, Remy, it sounds absurd, even I suppose . . . obscene. I know it isn't right and that I shouldn't accept his offer that I should let you kill me instead but, Remy, _chère,_ I don't want to die! I feel so alive now! It's as if everything's magnified – my senses, the way I control my power – I don't have to constantly be on the alert with my emotions. Look, it's raining and the wind's blowing but none of it's my doing! I can be in this horrible state, angry and hurting, full of emotions, and it's not going to affect the weather at all!

"I know I'm a monster compared to what I was but in some way I'm more normal now than I ever was before. And I'm happy," she said glancing at Logan who gave her an encouraging nod. "And yes, I'm ashamed too and I don't deny feeling immense guilt but you can see for yourself that how I feel hasn't changed the weather like it would have before. I'm free in a way I've never been before. As hideous as this virus is it has actually freed me and I can stay free and sane as long as Logan is by my side."

Remy shook his head over and over again. He could hardly believe her, certainly he couldn't comprehend. As always her life was a contradiction. He only wanted the Stormy he knew and loved back, free from the virus and back at the school where she'd be safe. But that wasn't going to happen. Dracula would find her there just as he had before. The Stormy he knew was gone and would never be back.

"_Je souis malade comme oune chienne_**,**" Remy moaned.*

"Oh, my dearest Remy, I don't want you to feel that way but I also do not want you to be forced to live out the rest of your life knowing you were the one that killed me." Ororo said, reaching a hand out to him.

Remy knocked her hand away in anger and yelled, "Dat spiel might've worked on Logan but it ain't gonna work on me!" His bo staff began to glow from the charge he was sending through it as he starred accusingly at the two.

"Then maybe you ain't the friend she thought you were," Logan snapped.

"You don't even know what you're saying, Wolverine! She's got you hypnotized or somet'ing! You were never dis inept before! You know what we came here ta do, what we have ta do!" Remy exclaimed.

Logan would've done more than growl but Ororo, her speed greatly enhanced now, swiftly moved between the two men.

"No, I am not quite that type of vampire, Remy," Ororo said, placing a hand on Logan's chest. "I hunger for blood, true, and I am now able to heal surprisingly fast but I am not going to change into a bat or into mist or burn in the sunlight or even sparkle in the sun for that matter and I cannot hypnotize you or Logan or anyone else. Logan is acting upon his own free will and for that I will always be grateful."

Ororo and Logan looked at each other, some silent understanding passing between them. Ororo removed her hand from his chest though she couldn't resist letting it trail down and over his defined abs. The touch was soothing and arousing all at once and Logan was ready to be done with Remy so they could go.

"Listen to her, Remy. It was my idea, came to me while she kept feeding on me an' bawlin' an' goin' on about how sorry she was."

"I was not 'bawlin'!"

"Right."

"I certainly was not!"

Logan chuckled.

"I wasn't."

"Yeah, right. Look, Remy you gotta see we . . . well, it just kinda makes sense – us," Logan said. "We've been a team for a long time now me an' 'Ro, gone through death together, quite a few times I reckon, we go way back, way before you showed up, an' we stood by each other through all that an', well maybe the whole hiding out in the Outback thing didn't turn out so good but just like then I'm standing by her. Till the end."

"Thanks for the reminder," Ororo huffed.

"Well, it didn't," he replied.

"I did my best, what I thought was right."

"We all did, just like we're doin' now, but we lost a lot back then, 'Ro. More 'n the team bein' scattered all over the place an' that Genosha crap an' Betts bein' changed, we lost something that started between you an' me out there. Maybe we owe it to each other ta try an' see if there's still somethin' there even with you bein' like you are. I can't say it ain't been kind of a weird turn on for me, you feedin' on me the way you been. There's something sexy about it," he finished wryly.

She laughed. "I can't deny it does have a wicked allure that I find bewitchingly sensuous and yes, I really would like to see what might happen between us." Her eyes ran over Logan's body and she bit her lower lip as if in anticipation of what might happen.

"No way dis is real, dis jus' can't be happening," Remy moaned.

"Remy, I don't want you to think of me as a monster. Please, what I am now – it will enable me to find Dracula I think, maybe stop him from doing this to anyone else and Logan believes he can track Sinister; possibly we can put an end to him as well. If we can do that then perhaps my change is for the best, gruesome as it is."

"But what if you can't?" Remy demanded, shocked at her willingness to kill their long time nemeses.

"No guarantees but we can try. We have ta try," Logan said.

"I'll fight this," Ororo assured him.

"We'll fight it together," Logan said, taking her hand and gripping it tight.

Remy dropped his head, trying to make sense of all this.

"I . . . I won't be able to be around people any more, Remy, this may be the last time I see you. Please understand, the change happened so suddenly . . . I thought I had more time. I would never have allowed this to happen any other way, Remy. Please believe me. I've given Logan my word that I will not hurt a living soul and I give you my word as well. I will take my own life before I succumb to that. Can you accept that? Can you do this for me, for our friendship?"

"Ororo . . ." he couldn't say anything else his mind could barely wrap around this awful thing but he slowly nodded.

"Remy _chère_, I love you. Tell the other's too."

"Just make sure ya don't tell 'em till we're long gone," Logan said.

"Dey ain't gonna believe dis," Remy replied finally finding his voice. He shook his head because he didn't believe it either. "You know dey got everyone out lookin' for you as it is."

"They don't know where ta look for her though, do they? Ya gotta figure only you an' me figured out where she'd be an' what she'd do," Logan said as he wrapped a protective arm around Ororo now. "We owe her this – I owe her. We . . . we're gonna make this work. I want this."

"So you just gonna disappear an' hope no one finds you?"

"With a hellava runnin' start, yup that's the plan, now go on get outta here already."

"An' Remy supposed ta tell Scott all dis an' you t'ink he gonna be ok wid it?" Remy mumbled not sure how to explain this to their leader.

"If anyone comes after us – look, just tell them not to try," Logan said.

"So, you want Remy ta go back an' tell Scott you just gonna let her feed on you whenever de urge strike, dat you just gonna let her . . ." Remy was too flabbergasted to finish much less think straight, the image of Ororo dining on Logan too horrible and too vivid to ever forget. He barely kept his knees from giving out now as he envisioned Logan and Ororo's future together.

"It's a strange thing, love," Ororo said, startling the Cajun when her fingertips, cold yet oddly heated, stroked his cheek. "Remember what I _was_, Remy, not this."

Remy didn't try to bat her hand away but looked at Ororo intently. All traces of blood had washed away and she looked as beautiful as she always looked when she was in her element. He wanted the old her back, wanted to save her, help her in some way and perhaps this was all he could do. But if he let her go . . . he didn't know how he could let her go, not because of the virus that had turned her into something horrendous but because she was in a way a part of him. Ororo was the lone person who had stood by him when the others had condemned him when they'd discovered his part in the annihilation of the mutant Morlocks. Her friendship had helped him return to the X-Men and had made him a better man. What he felt for her was passionate and true. He both loved and adored her. He would do anything for her as he knew she would do anything for him. But would she let _him_ walk away if the tables were turned?

The look on her face was sad but hopeful looking for the smallest sign of approval from him, something he'd seen so seldom from her for Ororo needed no man's approval. If he let her go it meant he would lose his best friend forever. If he tried to stop her – but no his resolve had melted like ice in the desert from the moment he'd struck her. He would not stop her and Logan. He loved her too much and for a second he almost wished it was him and not Logan that could go with her and save her from herself.

His hand caught at hers, held it hard against his cheek. His eyes were watery. He cleared his throat. This wouldn't be the end; it would be a new beginning – for both of them. He had to believe that just as she had believed in him. Her smile when she saw his decision in his eyes almost broke him. He took her hand from his face and pressed it to his lips holding it a few moments more before letting her go. He wiped at his eyes angrily then threw his hand out in front of him urging her to go. Torn inside he watched her and Logan walk out onto the plains, watched them until he couldn't see them anymore, the tall slender woman and the shorter stocky man walking hand in hand disappearing into darkness.

When they were gone Remy settled onto his haunches and forced the bile that wanted to find its way out to stay put. He'd have nightmares for a long time to come as he remembered Ororo, the virus at its peak, the sky lit full of lightning, shirt clinging to her body from the rain, the blood on her face, the look on Logan's face – as if he'd follow her to the end of the world. He'd always suspected Wolverine had feelings for Ororo and that he'd even been a little jealous of the relationship Remy had with her but knowing he had been right did little to make him feel better. Ororo had been right too, love made you do strange things, strange and horrible things. And as if she'd heard his thoughts (and who's to say mutated vampires could not?) a ball of lightning, blazing and crackling, shot out from behind the darkness Logan and Ororo had disappeared into. It flew through the air dashing past Remy, circled him then darted up above him finally exploding high in the sky sending sparks and the stench of ozone thick into the air. A final farewell, beautiful and potentially deadly yet controlled, all that Ororo was. He didn't bother to wipe the tears away this time.

**-xox-**

It was a very long time before Remy could stop thinking about Ororo, especially the way she'd looked at him before they'd parted, dreamy and far away as if she were sleep walking or was it that she had found some semblance of peace when he'd decided to let her go? He would always wonder. The others had abided by her wishes, waiting to see if she and Logan could put an end to the two masterminds behind the virus, perhaps out of guilt or love or possibly both, but how much time they would give the couple Scott wouldn't say. Hopefully enough time so that Remy would never have to face Ororo like that again. How Logan could live with that sick, twisted version of Ororo Remy didn't know. To be fed on like a leech's meal, it made him sick just thinking of it. But he loved Ororo, loved the Ororo he chose to remember, and he prayed every night that Hank or Reed Richards would find a cure. Every day he wished it was all a horrible dream but he knew when he woke each morning it would still be a nightmarish ending for a woman he had loved as both best friend and something more.

And Ororo and Logan ? Sometimes it's the difficult times that bring one's true feelings to the fore. Perhaps strange indeed but as they sought to vanquish those responsible for the virus they gave into their feelings and were finally married. Truly committed to each other their life was far from anything they'd imagined – wild, adventurous, fulfilling in ways they would never be able to articulate, but it worked for them, after all, what one may do for love can be quite strange but there's nothing like love to keep and bind you through the good _and_ the bad times.

~_**Finis**_~

* _Je souis malade comme oune chienne - I am as sick as a dog_


End file.
